The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbines and, more particularly, to systems and methods for the installation of balance weights within and upon components of a turbine.
Some power plant systems, for example certain nuclear, simple cycle and combined cycle power plant systems, employ turbines in their design and operation. Some of these turbines include rotating components and assemblies (e.g., a drum rotor, a wheel and diaphragm rotor, etc.) which during operation rotate at high speeds and tight clearances within a housing of the turbine. Balancing of these components or assemblies (e.g., uniform weight distribution about a center point of the rotor) may be required for efficient and safe operation of these turbines, reducing wear and vibrations. Some systems may be initially unbalanced as a result of manufacturing variations, material compositions, design choices, component orientations, etc. In these systems, balance weights (e.g., rotor balance weights, trim balance weights, etc.) may be used to balance these unbalanced components once they have been installed in the turbine housing/shell. These balance weights may be secured by a technician about the turbine (e.g., on a wheel, on a shaft, etc.) during assembly, the location and size of these balance weights chosen to counteract a known unbalance in the system. In some systems, these balance weights are located on the outer turbine wheels (e.g., where access is convenient). However, even on outer turbine wheels, installation may be difficult and/or limited by equipment configuration, as access to the outer turbine wheels requires work through small access apertures covered by removable hatches. These small access apertures are configured to avoid major disassembly for turbine maintenance by allowing limited access to internal portions of the turbine. However, access aperture size may complicate and limit maintenance processes with traditional tools where long reach and precise maneuvering is required for proper installation.